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Colombian Shark?

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Hi,

I have what I'm pretty sure is a catfish. He was sold to us as a 'hi fin shark' but after a few searches when we got home, we found out it was a completely different fish. A bit more searching and the closest match I could find was a Colombian Shark, though I am only 80% sure on this so here's a picture if anyone can verify... The picture doesn't show it but he has a wide mouth..

The profiles say that it is a brackish fish, so I was thinking of buying him a separate tank in the near future since he is currently in our freshwater tank and has eaten 7 of our smaller fish already... Currently he's in a 20gal tank but what size should I get for him? Will it need a filter, heater, etc?

Thanks.. :)

Edit: Right now he is only a few inches long, if that helps as to what size tank he should have

It does indeed look like a colombian shark. I don't have personal experience with them, but the two main points of interest look to be the fact that they can grow to nearly two feet long, and that they need to transition from fresh/brackish to brackish/marine as they age.

Keeping this fish properly will not be cheap. It will require a very large tank. The first thing you should do is decide if you want to invest the time and money in providing a proper home for this fish. If the answer is no, you should see if you can return it or find another suitable home for it.

Looks like a very young Iridescent shark; Pangasius species. Grows to four feet, and is a schooling fish, so no fewer than six, meaning a truly massive tank in the many thousands of gallons to keep them.

Can't be a columbian shark, since they have whiskers.

Dave

When a finger points to the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.

Omnia mutantur nihil interit.

The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go

Dave,is right about that one.could be a mekong giant though.Have been seeing juvies for sale lately.Look at the eyes and chunker body.If it is a bigger version it could grow into a 10 foot monster.There are many,many pangius catfish.

well, these guys know their fish better than me, so I'm probably wrong. Either way this fish is going to be massive one day, so unless you're looking to buy an enormous tank this fish won't be suitable for you.

Thanks for the replies so far.. he does have whiskers, here's a better picture:

If the general idea is that he will need a much bigger tank we will probably not be able to keep him... Currently we are living in an appt and it will probably be a hassle to maintain it, and we are planning on moving soon anyways... I guess we will have to see what happens :)

I agree with Dave, it's a member of the Pangasius genus. The variety sold as "Hi-fin" is a cousin of the iridescent shark. They get a little smaller, but are more aggressive. Keep an eye on them, they can be real pigs at feeding time.